Atrophy
by hope for eternity
Summary: One-shot song-fic! Angsty and sad, T for depression and a tiny metnion of character death. It's a bit different! Song Atrophy by the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Reviews are love!


**A/N I decided it was one-shot time, to get rid of any boredom readers of DIKY might have, because I'm revising for exams later this week, and I don't have time to write my usual length of chapter... and I don't have a clear idea of what's happening this chapter either. Hmm... So, this is a song-fic- Atrophy by the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. It's very, **_**very**_** vaguely based on Demi leaving SWAC, but not by much. In no way does it represent how I feel towards the subject! I love Demi, and I respect her choice. This is just one of many ways Sonny could have left- well, if SWAC was for older viewers, anyway, cos it's bit angst-y. This is all from Chad's point of view. Enjoy!**

**~*~*~*~*~*Atrophy-** degeneration, decline, or decrease, as from disuse***~*~*~*~*~**

_**Atrophy**_

For so long, this struggle has been going on. _She_ is slowly slipping away. When we first saw the signs, we tried to help her. We really did. And, it _did_ seem to get better... for a while. But, then, it was like she relapsed. She went back to the bad habits- to Hollywood, the behaviour of a good maturing celebrity. To us, her friends and family, it was the beginning of her being destroyed, slowly, bit by bit.

She dyed her hair over and over. She lost weight. She started putting on so much make-up her natural features were barely visible.

_Hollywood Fever_.

That's what it seemed like at first. The surge of _fame_ to the bloodstream, so exciting, so _beautiful_. But she slipped rapidly through the stages, getting surgeries and jobs and changing her attitude until she was nearly beyond recognition. We kept trying to stop her; to pull her from the depression and self hatred, but it was no use. When she started on the liposuction, her family gave up and went home.

I don't think she noticed.

And among this, I was, bit by bit, losing my best friend. The love of my life. The sun of my world. She couldn't stand not being 'perfect'.

She slipped further down her **decline**.

She was anorexic, so lost and thin and _imperfect_ that it was killing her. No matter what we did or said, she wouldn't listen. She seemed to go insane. She hated our attempts at stopping her, and eventually, she snapped and yelled;

"_All you want is to keep me ugly and horrific! Just to make yourselves feel better!" _

And she tried to throw us away. And a lot more of us gave up. But not her closest friends; her cast _(her director gave up long ago)___and then there was me.

_(Though no one could understand why we were sticking around)_

Her sunny personality disappeared under **disuse. **

And we could see from the stark red cuts. The end was getting closer.

_We had just one more plan_.

I swallow, catching the eye of her blonde ally, who is holding on despite what people had expected. She nods. I take a deep breath and step forward onto the stage.

The crowd is stone silent. They are all staring at me, wondering what on earth they have been brought here for. The cameras are rolling. I grip my guitar tightly and take one more small step forward to speak into the microphone.

"Hey, everybody. Bet you're all wondering why you're here...

Well, tonight, we are here to save a life. This is a song written for a girl you all know. You've seen what's happening to her. She's slipping away. And we know that tonight is her last chance. A few years ago, she came to Hollywood and stole out hearts. She was innocent and beautiful and loved. But she's given up on herself." I swallow, seeing the nearest eyes filling with tears, the nods as they acknowledge who I'm talking about.

"So this is a song written for her... to show that _we_ haven't given up on _her_... and this is the final plan. Please. Just listen. Maybe this won't be what you expect. It's not soft and persuasive. It's metal and loud. But I hope the message speaks loud and clear."

The spotlight dims over me. I can see the faint gleam of the cameras pointing in my direction, and I take a deep breath. My macho brother comes to sing the first line.

Chad's brother:

_Don't tell me this isn't your last chance to change  
>'cause if you do, then you would be telling a lie but<em>

Chad:

_I warned you  
>what could happen if you should decide<br>to live your life from the nine to five.  
>and I mourn you<br>for the detail that is left unsaid  
>is a reminder of the time you bled<em>

_Return to days when you knew you still felt alive  
>Reveal the way you felt when you could look inside <em>

I open my eyes, see people's arms in the air. Seeing people agreeing. I launched into the second verse.__

_They've sold you  
>everything you need to fix you up<br>and you feel good now but you can't wake up  
>they found a way to reassure you<br>that everything would be okay  
>reach out today now I implore you<br>to remember who you are_

_Return to days when you knew you still felt alive  
>Reveal the way you felt when you could look inside<em>

I dropped my voice softly.

_So you felt it, but you don't know,  
>why you can't explain at all<br>why you felt it, 'cause you don't know,  
>no you don't know<em>

_Break the walls between building atrophy  
>causing all your problems to recede<br>break the walls between (break the walls between)  
>causing all your pain (causing all your pain)<br>you'll never learn_

_Return to days when you knew you still felt alive  
>Reveal the way you felt when you could look inside <em>

I look up and meet Tawni's eyes. She's on the phone, seeking the results of our final attempt. I can't read her expression. After some short seconds that seem to take a decade, she shuts the phone and meets my gaze.

She shakes her head, the sorrow making her answer almost imperceptible.

Suddenly, I was angry. She was giving up. She was letting go. My shoulders slump.

**So what was the worth?**__

_(Break the walls between building atrophy)  
>Take back<br>The beat in your heart  
>Why fight<br>When you can't be bought?_

_(Causing all your problems to recede)  
>Take back<br>The beat in your heart  
>Why fight<br>When you can't be bought?_

_(Break the walls between)  
>Take back<br>The beat in your heart  
>Why fight<br>When you can't be bought?_

_(Causing all your pain)  
>Take back<br>The beat in your heart  
>Why fight<br>When you can't be bought?_

I open my eyes one more time, seeing horror-struck expressions as they open their phones and receive the horrible news, then look back at me, connecting suddenly with the end of the song. Tears fall freely down my face, and I throw the ring that's she's worn since she was a little girl into the crowd. Once the most important thing in my life.

Worthless now.

A/T/R/O/P/H/Y

The news was known worldwide a week later. It was hard. Facing the burnout of Allison "Sonny" Munroe. In a way, that girl was dead. All that was remaining was Allison, the cold, bitter girl, who had run away.

And killer herself.

Who after a long **decline**, and a period of building _ATROPHY_, had finally given up on her Hollywood life.

**A/N So... do you love it? Hate it? Freaked out by it? Please, I really need reviews on this. I'm not sure what to think myself... So, feel free to hit that review button and tell me your thoughts :D... cos REVIEW'S ARE LOVE!**

**Nangelgirl x**


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